Feb 4, 2010
Should I Get A Street Bike Or A Mountain Bike?
I’m thinking about buying a bike at walmart to ride to work (I only live a mile away) and to do cardio on when I’m not running. Should I get a mountain bike or a street bike? Why is one better than the other?
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Mate, buy what you want. Ride Walmart and ride proud. If you find that you are enjoying the ride think about splashing a little more cash in 12 months time at a dedicated bike shop. Don’t be put off cycling just because some of the people on this forum don’t remember what is like to be a beginning rider.
The ride to work (one mile a day) is simply not enough to explore the differences between a road and mtb. Don’t worry about it. It’s all good brother !
My advice – by a single speed mountain bike – they go for around 300 bucks – they are light quick and bullet proof – nothing on them to break – two miles a day on a single speed will do a whole lot more for your cardio than any other rig.http://www.konaworld.com/bikes/2k7/UNIT2…
If you buy it at Walmart, it’s not going to matter. It won’t last one season. If you want to do serious riding, go to a bike shop. No such term as “street bike”. But there are road bikes, and they’re built for speed.
Bikes from Walmart, Target, K-Mart are rock bottom quality wise. They’re cheap for a reason ! 10 miles a week is nothing ! Infact, 10 miles in a day is nothing ! You can do that in less than an hour ! I prefer a road bike myself.
The only good thing about a Walmart bike is no-one will steal it.
Avoid department store bikes, they maybe cheap and you’ll soon find out why. Shop around at swap meets and yard sales. People pay big money for bikes get tired of them and sell them for pennies on the dollar.
If I were you I’d get a hybrid, sort of a cross between a road and mountain bike. They ride great on the road and are sturdy enough for trails.
If you’re into mountain biking then by all means get a mountain bike and put hybrid tires on it. Their tread is smooth enough that you get a good ride but they have knobs big enough for traction when you need it.
With such a vague idea of what you’ll do. What’s cardio? 40 miles 3 times a week or 5 miles 1 time a month? Your roads: dirt, bad pavement, smooth blacktop? Also, there are many types of mountain and road bikes. Haven’t a clue as to what you might want.
A shot in the dark: get a cross type street bike.
EDIT: With the added info. Cross bike looks like it. they have a little heavier wheels and tires and can handle bad pavement but will be pretty fast still. I use a mountian bike with smooth tires for the same type of thing so that’s an option as well.
Check out the Jamis Coda or the Fuji Absolute Dx. They are flat bar road bikes at reasonable prices. Oh, for those you who dis Wal-Mart….including myself….they are now offering high end italian built road bikes including a full carbon ride with ultegra components for under $2000….available on-line only to be shipped to your local store or house ready to ride right out of the box without the Wal-Mart monkey trying to put it together. I’m not joking check it out.
Get a road bike all the way!!!!!! I’m a former BMX’er and Mountain biker. I love all bikes but road bikes to me are definitely the best. You won’t believe how fast you can go and the workout is intense.
I actually wouldn’t recommend a Walmart bike. I’m not being snotty, but there is a reason why the bikes cost substantially less than ones from a bike store. You don’t need to spend $1000 (I didn’t), but the extra $100-$150 you spend is well worth it (assuming that you purchase a less expensive bike from a shop). If you get end-of-model-year bikes, you can get a good deal for $250-$300 bucks on a bike that will most likely give you more satisfaction than a department store blowout bike. I came close to walking out of my local bike shop with a great bike for around $225.00. I ultimately opted for a different model, but am close to buying a second bike for about $275.00 (which is a super-sale price, not the MSRP).
Road bikes will let you go faster, but usually cost more money and have a less-upright posture when you ride. Mountain bikes have fatter tires and more upright geometry, which don’t let you go as fast, but can be more forgiving when you ride. I commute to work semi-regularly, and found that the hybrid I ride (which is essentially a flat bar road bike) allows me to sit more upright and have a better view of traffic on the ride, which is safer, but doesn’t prevent me from going fast and having fun when I feel like it.
mountaIn bike